Past Tour Highlights

PAST TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

2019 Highlander 20

Our 20th Anniversary ride was held on September 14, 2019. There was an unusual wind/rain storm overnight which left some wet roads and misc. debris as the dawn broke. Unfortunately that meant problems early in the ride due to the first climb being chip sealed. Countless flats occurred which was a lesson to all. For sure it was a rough start but that is the Highlander. A truly challenging ride. This year we saw over 11,000′ of climb and many new hills never used before. For only the second time in Highlander history we went Westward after a brief homage paid to the incomparable Bopple/Gannett sisters. The riders were treated to incredible views and barely traveled back roads in between four of the famous Finger Lakes, including Canandaigua, Honeoye, Canadice and Hemlock. The day ended up sunny and perfect for riding. If you made it to the finish, you got your money’s worth for sure!

Lastly we need to pause and remember with incredible fondness, our legendary friend John Brahm, owner of Arbor Hill Winery, our sponsor from day one. John passed away tragically this year in a car accident. As the Highlander song “Grapes of Arbor Hill” says, “Ol Johnny Brahm’s a helluva guy.” Always smiling and always willing to help, he will be forever remembered and missed in Highlander Lore. He brought a unique passion to the hills of Canandaigua and if you haven’t sampled his products and his Beers -n- Brats establishment, you haven’t lived. John, this one was for you mate. RIP!

The Highlander

2018 Highlander 19

Once again we had nearly perfect weather on September 15, 2018. Starting just slightly cool and finishing warm, it was epic from start to finish. As promised, the Highlander brought some entirely new terrain to the Tour. Just like the 2018 Tour de France, we even through the roadies a section of dirt/gravel to shake up the mindsets of what is possible. We brought back some roads not ridden in nearly 10 years during the DB4D days. With an exquisite collection of roads down to Hammondsport via Prattsburgh, the average pace was higher than usual. While the overall climb and gradients were a bit less, they got harder as you rode. With stunning views of Keuka Lake, the day was truly one for the record books on favorite status. Bully Hill, Chapel Hill and the incredible wall of Yoder were hard to forget. Belknapp was a true grind going on for nearly 3 miles. Did anyone hit the KOM on Griesa after all that? Wow. What a day. It was a great way to end our 2nd decade and set us up for our 20th anniversary ride. We sure hope you can make it because it will be unbelievable. Did you expect anything less?

2017 Highlander 18

Well, the 2016 gambit paid off. The Return of the King was triumphant.We broke the mid-September rain curse! September 16, 2017 was a spectacular sunny, warm day hitting the low 80’s. If you rode it, you’ll remember it. We cobbled together almost all of our famous hallmark climbs including CR33, Mosher, Egypt, CR32, Miller’s, Bopple, Bills, Gannett, CR36, Maxfield, Strong, Italy Valley, Sliter and Greisa! 100 miles of vertical splendor! Many of us discovered the benefits of salt on the day!

More importantly, we want to take this opportunity to showcase another key ingredient of what has made the Highlander BEST IN CLASS. We have been blessed beyond measure to have Roger and Cindy Brahm coordinating our extensive rest stops and the complex logistics of keeping it smooth over hundreds of miles all these years. Unfortunately for us, we lost Roger just before the event after a difficult battle with cancer. Rog, we will be forever in your debt but we know you are serving the real King in glory now and we want to celebrate your life. No regrets! Someday we’ll reunite and put on a heavenly ride that will eclipse all other rides. Thank you too Cindy for continuing to help us through this difficult transition. You’ll always be the heart of the event!

2016 Highlander 17

For those that were able to participate, you were treated to glorious sunny skies and warm temperatures with a slight breeze on July 23, 2016. A perfect day to break the cycle of rainy days in September. It was a trial basis and we have heard from many of you. You have spoken and we have listened. You want the distance and you want it late in the riding season. So here’s the challenge. We are bringing back the original. The Return of the King. We will offer a “Big” course on the original date (Sept. 16, 2017). Will YOU be there?

In 2016 we simplified our course strategy. All riders rode the same basic core course with options for more or less challenge. Choose your fitness level so-to-speak. The course followed much of the original Metric Century course from year one! The riders loved being together as did the SAG wagons!

We decided to take a time-out on the Friday night TT up Gannett Hill. We may bring this back someday (maybe when Mark McCarthy turns 70!).

The Mountaineer held it’s own with group led rides centered on OCP and Camp Cutler with bonus tracks on Stid.

Lastly we were able to give over $10,000 to our charities once again. This brings our total over the years to approximately $220,000. This represents ALL proceeds. We have never kept a dime and are proud of our giveback to green space and healthy lifestyle mandates in the area. We’ve never required fund-raising and we hope that your voluntary giving hearts are as proud as ours. Together we can!

Best of all the Ride Director finally got to ride again. LOL!

2015 Highlander 16

Congratulations to the nearly 300 riders who braved some difficult rains once again. For sure they represented the heartiest of Highlanders. It’s a story that will be told for years to come.

The QuadsHilla course returned to the classic full century on terrain that we believe represents the best of the best in the area. With epic climbs of Egypt, Millers, Bopple, Gannett, Sliter, and Griesa, the riders met some quad crushing climbs throughout the ride.

The Corkscrew followed a similar route while avoiding the steepest climbs to offer some of the best scenery and vineyards around. A true classic!

The Mountaineer explored all 4 of the classic peaks but also added some exciting new trails at Ontario County Park. Despite the mud, they were the happiest riders of the day being under wooded canopy for large portions of the ride.

22 riders finished the 12th Mountain Prologue race.

Nick Leonard from Rochester, NY, repeated as CHAMPION again, with a time of 20:59.00, the best time on the course in 6 years.

Christine Schryver from Rochester, NY, also repeated with a incredible time of 23:14.00, just missing the course record by <6 seconds. She was 4th overall as well! Not bad for a 54 year old!

Mark McCarthy was the fastest 40+ rider turning in an amazing 22:16. Mark is 66 years old to boot! We had no other women riders.

Rider Comments. We appreciate your feedback which can be found on our Facebook Page .

2014 Highlander 15

Congratulations to the nearly 500 riders who braved some iffy weather once again, to help us celebrate our 15th Anniversary. We pulled out all the plugs and put together a unique and never before done tour!!

For the first time, HTC circumnavigated Canandaigua Lake. Both the QuadsHilla and the Corkscrew followed the general circuit while remaining true to their callings. This was fun for the riders as they were able to cross paths with many comrades all day long.

Congratulations to Nick, Christine and all the participants in the Friday Time Trial.

We threw in a Gran Fondo challenge in the middle of the tour. Bottom of Bopple Hill to the top of Stid Hill. A four mile extreme challenge with 2000’ of climb on grades up to 23%. Can you say burn?? Nick Leonard put icing on his TT cake by winning again in an amazing time of 18:49. Holly Turner turned the tables and cycled to an impressive win in 28:46 on the women’s side.

We debuted some exciting new rider paraphernalia including new cycling kit, water bottles, posters, and a long-sleeve tech T to go with the traditional custom labeled wine or juice and stickers.

You can find photos from the 14th Highlander Cycle Tour and Time Trial by Sorrells Photography on our photos page. These photos may be purchased through their link.

Rider Comments. We appreciate your feedback which can be found on our Facebook Page .

2013 Highlander 14

Congratulations to all 2013 Highlander Cycle Tour participants, and a special thanks to all our sponsors and volunteers for another EXCELLENT Highlander year!!

The 14th Highlander Cycle Tour attracted 600 riders from 20 different states. The scenic Corkscrew Century, which showcases the beauty of the Finger Lakes, continued to be the most popular ride. But hardy riders seeking climbing challenges were well represented on the QuadsHilla Century, climbing Bopple and avoiding the grim reaper. And nearly 50 rode the Westerm Route Mountaineer with forays into the Cumming Nature Center and the infamous seven switchbacks.

You can find photos from the 14th Highlander Cycle Tour and Time Trial by Sorrells Photography on our photos page. These photos may be purchased through their link.

Rider Comments. We appreciate your feedback which can be found on our Facebook Page .

2012 Highlander 13

Congratulations to all 2012 Highlander Tour participants, who, despite the weather, rode at least part of their planned tour route. And a number of you rode the entire centuries despite being soaked to the bone!! Also thanks to all our sponsors and especialy to the volunteers for another unforgetable Highlander Tour!!

Highlander number 13 proved unlucky for weather (maybe we should have changed the numbering sequence). While the Friday time trial events enjoyed excellent riding weather and Saturday morning started promising, we were hit by a severe storm and rain by mid afternoon.

The riders who started early, shown here on Bopple, had reasonable weather in the morning. But those who took a later start or continued as the rain storm approached got caught in some heavy downpours.

645 riders registered early this year, but given the forecast we estimate only 500 braved the weather and rode. The majority, 89% were from NY, but riders from as far away as SC, NV, CA, WA, CO and others participated and 23 were from Canada. Since many altered their plans due to the weather we don’t know the actual rides taken, but according to the registration, 45%, opted for the scenic Corkscrew Century, 30% for the QuadsHilla, 15% for the Yodeler and the rest chose the Mountaneer and QuadLite. About 43, hardy, mud spattered, mountain bike enthusiats braved the revised 31 mile, 7000′ epic single-track Mountaineer.

Congratulations to the 2012 HighTri winners: Mens QuadsHilla/Olympic Brian Brodine with a time of 2:36:05; mens Corkscrew/Olympic, Patrick Capuson with 2:20:29; and mens Corkscrew/Sprint Bob Singer with a time of 1:47:20. The women winners were: Corkscrew/Olympic: Robin Zimpel-Fontaine with a time of 2:49:09; Corkscrew/Sprint Solveig Hanson with a time of 1:48:29; and Yodeler/Sprint Angela Dalton with a time of 1:34:49. This year 21 riders participated riding the HCT13 on Saturday and then competing in the Finger Lakes Triathlon on Sunday

The silent auction was another great success thanks again to the generosity of both our many sponsors and of course, all of the riders and families that placed bids. Many great items were up for bid this year, including bikes, trainers, clothing, etc., and gift certificates to many local businesses.Approximately $17,000 was raised for the following charities, most who help man the rest stops or provided SAG or other support: Mercy Flight, South Bristol Historical Society, Broomfield Rotary Club, Naples Yout Corporation, American Heritage Girl Scouts, Girl Scouts of Western NY, Seneca Waterways – Boy Scouts/Camp Cutler, Crescent Trail Association, Genessee Valley Harriers, Genessee Valley Greenway, Prattsburg Free Library, Perington Pride, Maxfield Hose Co., Scott Delfote Foundation and Rochester XC Ski Foundation.

One consolation to the riders that were caught in the rain was the new Bristol Mountain Caffeteria and Kitchen serving hot food.

[Bristol Mountain new kitchen caffeteria]

You can find photos from the Highlander Cycle Tour and Time Trial by Sorrells Photography on our photos page. These photos may be purchased through their link.

Rider Comments. We appreciate your feedback which can be found on our Facebook Page

2011 Highlander 12

Congratulations to all 2011 Highlander Cycle Tour participants, and a special thanks to all our sponsors and volunteers for another EXCELLENT Highlander year!! Despite some inconveniences due to construction at Bristol Mountain and road construction, the 12th annual Highlander Cycle Tour had a record turnout with the riders enjoying perfect riding weather.

The 12th Highlander Cycle Tour attracted 742 riders, a new record for the event, even though some pre-registered riders were unable to come due to flooding by hurricane Irene. Demographicaly, 80% of the riders were men. The scenic Corkscrew Century has become the most popular ride, attracting 320 riders, and without a doubt it showcases the beauty of the Finger Lakes in terrific fashion while offering just a mild taste of the challenge of the Quads Hilla/DB4D Century. 115 riders chose the shorter, less challenging Yodeler routes. The hardy riders seeking climbing challenges were well represented however with 132 pounding the hills on the QuadsHilla Century, 16 choosing the shorter but equally tough QuadLite Metric Century, 113 riders claiming bragging rights by riding the DB4D Double Metric Century, and 25 off-road enthusiasts slogging up the mountains and careening down single tracks in the 40 Km Mountaineer ride (which was ridden backwards this year).

Thanks to Team Boyce Productions you can watch a video of the Time Trial finish (if you have the bandwith select full screen and HD)

The Highlander again held a silent auction for charity and had many great value deals (from our local bike stores and others) up for grabs including some cool bikes and tons of other bike merchandise. Thanks as well to Geneva Bikes and our other bike shops for donating many of these amazing items and participating in the post event expo/party. If you missed it, you can be sure it was a grape day!

The High Tri Challenge introduced this year was a great sucess with 32 riders signing up. The event combined riding one of the Highlander Tours on Saturday and then competing in the Finger Lakes Triathlon on Sunday, with prizes to the top M/F triathlon finishers.
Of the 32 riders signed up for the High Tri Challenge 22 completed the challenge.
Congratulations for our winners:

The Highlander Cycle Tour is a charity fund raising event. This year the Highlander raised $16,000 for charities including Mercy Flight Central, Lance Armstrong Foundation, South Bristol Historical Society,Bloomfield Rotary Club, Prattsburg Council, GVH, Rochester XC Ski Foundation, Naples Youth, Boys and Girl Scouts, and others. The amount is smaller this year as we had higher expences with the temporary facillity due to construction at the Bristol Mountain main lodge. In our 12 years we have given away nearly $175,000. We hope you are as proud of that as we are. We aim to make the event affordable, without requiring fundraising to participate, and are able to keep the registration fees low by relying on volunteer staff and Sponsor support. We thank all of our sponsors who help offset our costs to make this possible, and special thanks go to our wonderful volunteers who manned the rest stops and sag wagons.

You can find photos from the 12th Highlander Cycle Tour and Time Trial by Sorrells Photography on our photos page. These photos may be purchased through their link.

Rider Comments. We appreciate your feedback and here are a few for HCT12:

My compliments to you and the other Highlander organizers on the Corkscrew Century route. It was a truly enjoyable ride for me and the small group I rode with, and a perfect day to be in the saddle. I know a lot of hard work and organization goes into an event like this and I really think the Corkscrew route had a perfect mix of challenging hills and swooping descents.
HOME RUN!!! on both the route and the day. I look forward to doing it again next year. — Jim

Thanks again to you and your team. This was our first experience with your event and we were absolutely blown away by the organization of the event and the energy, enthusiasm and friendly outlook of everyone we met……all the volunteers should be applauded for their time, energy and positive attitude. The course did not disappoint, it was everything I feared and more. I am sure we will be back in the future. — Mike from Canada

The Highlander was again a great day. The last two years now have been just perfect for riding and you and your crew have put on an excpetion event. Adding the triathlon to it makes for a great weekend. I really had a lot of fun. People though I was nuts to do both these events in one weekend, the tri being my first, but I guess it paid off. — Bob

2010 Highlander 11

Congratulations to all 2010 Highlander Tour participants, and a special thanks to all our sponsors and volunteers for another EXCELLENT Highlander year!! Bracketed by rain, the weather turned perfect on Friday for the time trials and Saturday for the tour.

728 riders participated this year. The majority, 86% were from NY, the rest were from 20 other states, some as far as Colorado, California, Washington and Nevada. Canada had the second largest contingent after NY. Many pounded their way up some vicious hills in the 128 mile DB4D and the 84 mile QHT, and a record number, 39%, enjoyed the scenic Corkscrew Century, while the Yodeler saw some very young riders. About 75, hardy, mud spattered, mountain bike enthusiats braved the 31 mile, 5300′ epic single-track Mountaineer and enjoyed a perfect mountain-top kind of day.

Despite the recent chip seal on Gannette Hill Rd, 44 individual and 8 team riders completed the time trials. The Mountain Prologue Time Trial was won by Russell Jones from Ridgeway – with a time of 20.37. Top female rider was Jarmila Gorman of Idledale, CO with a time of 26.46. The team of Tim Andrus and Bruce Rohdenburg won the male TT and John Barrott and Angela Schnuerch won the mixed TT. Thanks to Boots and Ellen of Fleet Feet Sports and Yellowjacket Racing, here are the complete Individual TT Results , Age Group TT Results and Team TT Results.

Congratulations to the 2010 Highathlon Mens Champion Philip Nesbitt! His 3:15.13 in the Rochester Marathon just edged 2-time winner, John Barott who ran a 3:16.20. But what a race! At the 12 mile mark, the two Highathlon leaders were side-by-side. The 24 year old rookie vs. the veteran ace at 50. Raw unbridled energy vs. tactical brilliance. In the end youth prevailed but by a small margin. It should be noted though, that in addition to the Highathlon, John did ride the 25 mile Team Time Trial on Friday, as well as running the USATF National 15K Masters Championships on Monday. Congratulations also to the 2010 Highathlon Womens Champion, Bridget Baumer who ran 4:29.32 to earn her first crown, and that after nearly 11 hours in the saddle the day before! Well done to all 12 Highathletes for completing one of the toughest endurance weekends out there. Each of our winners will receive a $100 certificate from our great sponsor Glenn at Tri-Running & Walking in Victor.

This year’s silent auction was another great success thanks again to the generosity of both our many sponsors and of course, all of the riders and families that placed bids. Many great items were up for bid this year, including bikes, trainers, clothing, ski tickets to Bristol and Hunt Hollow, and gift certificates to many local businesses. We even had a kayak available from Canandaigua Sailboard! All proceeds from the auction go to help others in need, so thank you!
There were some great deals to be had so stay tuned as we hope to make next year’s auction even bigger! If you have an item or would like to support the 2011 auction by donating a gift certificate or service from your company, please send an email to director@highlandercycletour.com.

[ Silent Auction]

Approximately $19,000 was raised for the following charities, most who help man the rest stops or provided SAG or other support: Mercy Flight, Lance Armstrong Foundation, South Bristol Historical Society, Broomfield Rotary Club, Naples Yout Corporation, American Heritage Girl Scouts, Rochester Futbol Club, Genessee Valley Harriers, Genessee Valley Greenway and Rochester XC Ski Foundation. Since the first HCT we have raised approximately $155,000 for charities, averaging about $20,000 the last six years, while keeping our registration fees low.

You can find photos from the Highlander Cycle Tour and Time Trial by All Ages Photography on our photos page. These photos may be purchased through their link.

Rider Comments. We appreciate your feedback and here are a few for the new HCT11 routes:[T]hanks to … the entire team for a fabulous ride on Saturday. Two of my RIT students and I did the Corkscrew Century and loved (almost) every minute of it. The route was great, the support was great, the weather was great, and the people were great. Neither of my guys had ever ridden one before, and I last did one 7 years ago (in Illinois, where the biggest hill is the overpass for the interstate). Our sense of accomplishment of making it through the ride and up the hill coming out of Naples at mile 94 was exhilarating! I look forward to seeing the pictures soon, and look forward to next year’s ride. — Mike[To] the HCT Staff a generous Thank You. My buddy Pete and i did the Corkscrew Century and had a blast, our very first Century. Can’t wait to do it again next year. It was challenging, and very fulfilling. I was not sure that two old gray heads could do it, but we did it. Just an awesome experience. Next year we are going to bring some more pals along as we spread the gospel of the glorious HCT. — DaveHighlander team, Great job on the design of DB4D. The walls you found to climb were amazing! You could not have ask for better weather. Thanks to all the groups that supplied the rest stops. The Bully Hill stop was tough not to cross road and have a glass. — DennisCorkscrew Century coarse was awesome. Better than last years Lowlander. Please keep it the same for next year. — BarryThe new DB4D was fantastic! I met great fellow cyclists, experienced amazing views, loved the challenge. Who on earth put a road up the face of a hill and called it Yoder, what we’re they thinking?? Thank you to all organizers and especially the volunteers who made all those PB&J’s. What a flawless day. This ride is the highlight of my summer. — MartyMore comments on our Facebook Page . If you wish to share your experiences of the tour, post photos, or make suggestions, visit the HCT Facebook Page.

2009 Highlander X

Happy 10th Anniversary Highlanders! Without a doubt our tenth was epic. Our sincere thanks go to all of you who came despite the less than perfect weather, and celebrated with us. Special thanks to Bristol Mountain who hosted the best Highlander yet!

The Highlander Cycle Tour had 730 riders this year riding the new courses, visiting new towns, mountaintops, lakes and vineyards. Many riders bought the new Highlander jersey and CD. All riders received a cool technical shirt worthy of the event challenge. Arbor Hill treated us to the Finger Lakes famous “Dry Reisling” wine, purple juice and grape pies.

We had a number of teams try the inaugural HCT Team Time Trial and we had a new King of the Mountain in the individual TT, as Cheyne could not be here to defend his 5 year unbeaten streak.

The Mountain Prologue Time Trial was won by Paul Knerr from Fairport, NY with a time of 21:30.40. Paul is 50 years old and beat many half his age.

Top female rider was Caryle Andrew-Zipprich from Manlius, NY with a time of 25:35.7. She also beat many of the men in the field.

Top Masters awards went to Richard Newman of Rochester, NY in 22.07.9, and Holly Turner of Rochester, NY in 29.54.9.

Congratulations to Paul and Caryle who received $100 certificates donated by Park Ave Bike Shop. We also thank Pedallers Bike Shop, for sponsoring the Masters winners and both shops for age group awards.

The Inaugural HCT Team Time Trial (TTT) categories were won by the following teams:

The Highlander also held its first silent auction and had many great value deals (from our local bike stores and others) up for grabs including several signed Lance Armstrong items. Thanks as well to Geneva Bikes and Terry for some awesome raffle items and door prizes.

Congratulations to Joe Jaffe of Rochester, NY who was the winner of the Highathlon, which combines riding the Highlander Century on Saturday and running the Rochester Marathon on Sunday, with fastest marathon time winning. Joe had a phenomenal time of 3:14.46 and qualified for the Boston Marathon. Joe received a $100 certificate to our sponsor Tri-Running and Walking in Victor. This year we had no female entrants, so this is a challenge to all you hearty ladies out there.

You can find photos from the Highlander Cycle Tour and Time Trial by All Ages Photography on our photos page. These photos may be purchased through their link.

Rider Comments. We appreciate your feedsback and here are a few for HCT10:

Saturday was my first experience at your event. I just want to thank you and your volunteers/sponsers etc. for a truly amazing experience. The chip sealed roads (improved my bike handling skills) incredible climbs, fantastic crews at the rest stops, world class course, great food, and fellow riders along the way added up to a day I will never forget. I’ve never gone faster or slower! Bopple after 100 miles was perfect! Thanks again. See you next year. — Mike

Just a quick compliment on another great event! At first I thought the revised route with Bopple on the tail end was an act of cruelty, but it worked out great. — Bill

I just wanted to let you know that I appreciated having the Bopple hill climb close to the end of the Midlander Tour rather than closer to the beginning. I felt that the entire ride was more enjoyable that way. Of course it also helped that I showed up for this year’s Midlander ride with a lower low gear than I have used during any of my previous rides. Thank you for a great ride. I really enjoyed it this year. — Paul

I had a very nice experience – thanks to all your rest stop volunteers and those whose hard work that must go into putting this together. Even having a flat was in it`s own way a rewarding experience, due to the kind help offered. — John

Just wanted to say that I LOVED the new Midlander route, and hope you have the same one next year!!! I also loved the t-shirt and excellent food afterwards. Thanks to you and the whole staff, and I’ll see you next year! — Chris

It must take a tremendous effort to organize an event like this. Just wanted to say Thank You for a wonderfully organized and supported ride. All the SAG’s we came to were very prepared for the riders and all the volunteers were very friendly and helpful. My husband and I have ridden the Highlander several times. This was the first time we opted for the Midlander instead of the Highlander. We thought doing 72 miles would be a better option since we are a bit on the slower side. The new tour route suited us too….altho the ominous Bopple awaited us towards the end. Also, we really liked the delicious dinner that was waiting for us back at the lodge when we were done. The catering was much appreciated…. SO MUCH BETTER than the chicken that used to be served !!!! Thank you — Susanne

Thank you to all the Highlander staff for organizing and running another great bike tour. It’s one of the best events that I ride in all year. I really liked the new course route. The only suggestion I have is to call the “Midlander” something else as it’s now tougher than the original Highlander I did back in 2000-2002 time frame. It took me about the same amount of time (5 hours) to ride the Midlander than it does to ride a normal full century. No big deal, but I think that ride and distance deserves more credit as we finish on the top of Bopple which is no small feat after 68 miles of tough climbing. — Mark

Ya know, I’d love to take a crack at designing a 125 mile Thighlander route for the truly insane. They are paving lots of dirt roads out there … — Mark

That last one was from Mark Rich, who designed many routes for RBC (Rochester Bicycle Club).We hear you Mark. All we can say here at Highlander HQ is…Stay tuned y’all. Just stay tuned…

We hope you had the time of your lives at Highlander X. Next year, come, REMEMBER with us on 9/11/10. Highlander rides again.

2008 Highlander 9

Congratulations to all 2008 Highlander Tour participants, and a special thanks to all our sponsors and volunteers for another EXCELLENT Highlander year!!

728 riders participated this year. Most pounded their way up some vicious hills in the Highlander Century Challenge, others enjoyed the Lowlander Century or the Midlander Metric Century and some rode the Wanderer. And the usual, hardy, mud spattered, mountain bike enthusiats tried to find their way on the Mountaineer route.

The Mountain Prologue Time Trial was won for the forth time in a row by Cheyne Hoag from Dansville, NY – with a time of 19:28.9, beating the runner up by more than 2 minutes! Top female rider was Jennifer Rea of Rush with a time of 24:45.7. Time Trial Results in PDF, thanks to Boots and Ellen of Fleet Feet Sports and Yellowjacket Racing,: Age Group Results and Overall Results.

See photos from the Highlander Cycle Tour and Time Trial by ALL Ages Photography. These photos may be purchased through this site.

Congratulations to John Barott of Canandaigua, NY and Joanne Wu of Rochester, NY who were the winners of the Highathlon, which combines riding the Highlander Century on Saturday and running the Rochester Marathon on Sunday. Winners were Highland riders with the highest placing in the marathon, John with a time of 3:36.43 and Joanne with a time of 4:20.38. John was our first winner in 2006 and is our first 2 time champion.

Again this year the event raised $20,000 for charities.

2007 Highlander 8

Despite the iffy weather, the 2007 Highlander Cycle Tour events set a new record for attendance. Congratulations to all ride participants, and a special thanks to all our sponsors and volunteers for another EXCELLENT Highlander year!!

720 riders enjoyed the Finger Lakes scenery, the ride camaraderie, great ride perks, and pounding their way up some vicious hills. The riders came from many states, and over 50 from Canada, and ranged in age from 12 to 71.

For the third year, over $20,000 was raised for Charity.

Congratulations to our Highathlon winners – Erik Grimm and Joan Haefner. Erik set a new Men’s Marathon record with a 3:02.40. Joan ran a 4:07.39. Erik went on to complete the infamous 2007 Hawaii Ironman with a 9:59 a few weeks later. He used the Highlander as a training weekend! Raise your bar folks!

66 Riders participated in the Mountain Prologue Time Trial, won for the forth straight year by Cheyne Hoag from Dansville, NY – with a time of 19:55:02 (just missing his course record)! Jen Rae won the Female honors with an outstanding 24:49. Complete Trial Results (thanks to Yellow Jacket Racing) are here in PDF format: Age Group Results and Overall Results.

The Highlander Cycle Tour also had two unbelievable firsts:

Lawrence Creatura from Rochester RAN the Highlander route! All 100 miles and 11,000 ft!!- He completed it in about 23 hours.

Nearly as impressive was Peter Koch who rode the Highlander in a fixed 42/16 gear bike! Yikes. His quads were twice their size when finished.

Rider Comments. We appreciate your comments and here are a few for HCT8:

I did the Highlander yesterday and I wish to thank you for the excellent organization of this event! This was my second time doing Highlander (2005 and 2007) and I did the Mountaineer last year. I have done many cycling tours and races and this one is very well supported. The volunteers at each rest stop do an amazing job. The course is very well marked. The registration is easy. The post-event party is fun. The entire experience is outstanding. The suffering is phenomenal. Very hard event but I have a tremendous feeling of accomplishment! This was a truly ‘enjoyable sufferfest.’ Andrew Cane

Just a quick email to say thank you to all of the other organizers and volunteers for a wonderful Highlander Cycle Tour event. I loved the ride. Great roads, beautiful countryside, monster climbs, and grape pie….it just doesn’t get any better than this! Carol

The event was very successful in terms of my participation and enjoyment, anyway. I had a good time, and it looked like many other riders, organizers and volunteers did as well. However, even more newsworthy, I would say, was that I passed Lawrence Creatura, a Mendon resident, at about the 89th mile. This is amazing because he RAN the Highlander, starting on Friday afternoon. He looked great when I passed, and I expect that he finished within two hours of my sighting. Of course, feeling like a dog after riding for over seven hours, I could not begin to understand how someone could run that course, even over two weeks, much less twenty-four hours! – Brian Kane 8 years and counting!

Many thanks for the memories! I did the time trial as well as the Highlander and both were very well organized events. The rest-stops were top notch and to have fan support at various points was totally unexpected. If you know any of these people, please pass on my thank yous. I was very impressed with everything. Its a beautiful setting for a cycle tour. If you are going to put yourself through something like this, its a real treat to have this incredible scenery to take your mind off the pain. And to pull off a double rainbow at 7:30AM as we came down Route 32….you guys are just too much 🙂 Chris Murphy

2006 Highlander 7

Congratulations to all 2006 Highlander Tour participants, and a special thanks to all our sponsors and volunteers for another EXCELLENT Highlander year!!

About 700 riders enjoyed the beautiful scenery, the ride camaraderie, and ride perks of the Tour. About 250 pounded their way up some vicious hills in the Highlander Century Challenge, another 200 enjoyed the Lowlander Century, about 100 rode the Midlander Metric Century and some 100 rode the Wanderer. And approximately 50 hardy, mud spattered, enthusiats navigated the rain soaked Mountaineer route.

55 Riders completed in the Mountain Prologue Time Trial, won for the third time in a row by 17 year old Cheyne Hoag from Dansville, NY – with a new record time of 19:53.6! Top female rider again was Jarmila Gorman of Evergreen, CO with a record time of 23:36.8. Time Trial Results, thanks to Boots and Ellen of Fleet Feet Sports and Yellowjacket Racing, (PDF): Age Group Results and Overall Results.

Congratulations to Susan Kircher and John Barott who were the winners of the Highathlon. This new event combined riding the Highlander Century on Saturday and running the Rochester Marathon on Sunday. Winners were Highland riders with the highest placing in the marathon.

See Highlander Cycle Tour Photos by ALL Ages Photography. These photos, taken on Miller Hill, may be purchased through this site.

2005 Highlander 6 a HUGE Success!

The 2005 Highlander Cycle Tour events were held under gorgeous skies in Bristol, NY! Congratulations to all ride participants, and a special thanks to all our sponsors and volunteers for another EXCELLENT Highlander year!!

Over 600 riders enjoyed the beautiful scenery, the ride camaraderie, the outstanding ride perks, and pounding their way up some vicious hills. The riders came from 17 states, 3 countries and ranged in age from 12 to 70.

Over $20,000 was raised for Charity.

Over 750 bottles of wine were given away and more than 150 Highlander jerseys were purchased

69 Riders participated in the Mountain Prologue Time Trial, won again by 16 year old Cheyne Hoag from Dansville, NY – with a time of 19:55! Top female rider was Jarmila Gorman of Evergreen, CO with a time of 24:11. Trial Results thanks to Yellow Jacket Racing (PDF): Age Group Results and Overall Results.

Over 128 riders took the opportunity to ride with timing chips thanks to YellowJacket Racing: Highlander Results (PDF)

See Highlander Cycle Tour and Time Trial Photos by ALL Ages Photography. These photos may be purchased through this site.

The weather was the best seen in New York in the last century. The courses were brutal. The riders were stoked. The bagpiper was a-blowin’. Bopple was chalked. The hype was, well, hyped. And with that the record-setting Highlander Five was held…

Lance Armstrong SIGNED copy of ‘Every Second Counts’, Geneva Bikes Fluid Trainer, and LAF Ride for the Roses GREEN JERSEY given away…plus

60+ ADDITIONAL door prizes given away

60+ Riders participated in the first inaugural Mountain Prologue Time Trial, won by Cheyne Hoag from Dansville, NY – who also posted the best split for the climb up Gannett in 12:13.6! Top female finisher was Anne August with a time of 25:17. Full Time Trial Results thanks to YellowJacket Racing: Age group results and Overall Results.

See Highlander Cycle Tour Photos via Ofoto. These photos may be purchased through this site.

2003 Highlander 4

See Highlander Cycle Tour Photos via Ofoto 2003. Photos may be purchased through this site.